Adjustable brace.



,PAIENTED FEB. 1a, 1908.

J. B. COLLINS. ADJUSTABLE BRAGB. APPLICATION 11,111) SEPT.19. 1901;

Jean 2'. LoZZuw' Arm/mm I THE NOR!!! PETERS cm, wasnmawu, n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN B. COLLINS, OF EROS, LOUISIANA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO ABECARTWRIGHT, OF

' EROS, LOUISIANA.

ADJUSTABLE BRACE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 18, 1908.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN B. COLLINs, residing at Eros, in the county ofJackson and State of Louisiana, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Adjustable Braces, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in thatclass of adjustable braces used for bracing or trussing purposes inbuilding and bridge construction, and in its generic nature my improvedconstruction of brace has its parts so cooperatively designed andcorrelated whereby to effect a uniform and positive equalization of thepressure or strain of the structure braced or sustained thereby and inwhich the strain is so transmitted, to provide, as it were, a centerbearing.

In its more complete nature, my present invention embodies an improvedconstruction of brace capable of being readily applied at any portion ofa building or bridge con structionin which a truss or diagonal brace isapplicable and in which the parts have such connection as to be readilyadjustable to any angle, to varied lengths and to take up the usualcontraction and expansion.

More specifically my invention consists in providing a brace havingbracket portions,

each of which brackets is provided with a lug to project into anaperture in the part to whlch it is made fast to relieve the strains onthe securing screws (which may be entirely omitted, if desired) and alsoto provide an im roved construction of bracket rod.

n the drawings,-Figure 1, is a front elevation of an adjustable bracemechanism which embodies my invention, the parts being set to impartpressure in the direction of the arrow a. Fig. 2, is a similar viewshowing the cross head or movable bar adjusted to another position toimpart pressure in the direction of the arrow 6. Fig. 3, is a verticallongitudinal section of the same, the parts being adjusted to impart astrain or pressure in the direction of the arrow 0, the direction ofmovement of the two turn heads or buckles being indicated by the arrow3, the parts of the framing being shown in elevation. Fig. 4, is asimilar view showing the parts adjusted to effect a pressure or strainin the direction of the arrow d, the direction of movement of the turnbuckles being indicated by the arrows 4. Fig. 5, is a perspective viewshow- 'tween the ears 13*, as shown.

ing one of the metal bracket parts that receive the heads-or fulcrumbearings of the adjustably and removably held extension vderstood thatthe precise arrangement of the framing shown is not a required form, asthe braces presently described are adapted for use in all types of houseor bridge construction where diagonal or truss braces are usuallyemployed.

My present construction of brace rod consists essentially of metalbrackets or castings 13, of a special form having afiat base 13* andears 13 spaced apart and connected at one end'by a transverse bridgemember 13 having a flat face 13 lying parallel with the face of the baseportion 13 and in a plane between that containing the base portion andthe outer or extreme edges of the ears 13 The bridge portion 13 isapertured as at 13 to permit passage of a securing screw by means ofwhich the casting 13 may be firmly secured in place, if desired.

The bridge portion 13 has a semi-circular face 13 while the ears 13 areapertured as at 13 to permit passage of the bolts 14, which pass throughthe cylindrical bearing portion 15 of the heads 15 which are fulcrumedbe- The heads 15 are provided with tubular socket extensions 15 whichare internally threaded to cooperate with the turn buckles or rods 16 asclearly shown in the drawings. The castings 13 have their base portions13 provided with lugs 13 which are adapted to project into apertures win the part to which thecasting or bracket 13 is secured.

All of the brackets 13 used in my adjustable brace are of the same formso as to be interchangeable and in assembling the parts of my improvedform of brace, I attach a pair of the brackets or castings 13 to theunderside of the adjustable cross bar 16 approximately centrallythereof, and to each of the vertical beams 10 I secure another casting13. The castings 13 on the same side of comes necessary merely to turnthe two turn drawings, the cross bar 16 as well as the vertical posts 10being provided with the apertures 90 to cooperate with the lug 13 of therespective castings.

The manner in which my invention operates is substantially as follows;if it be de sired to utilize my form of brace to take up the straintransmitted from above directly on the cross head or lintel bar 12, thestrain is at a point where the two side braces pivotally connect withthe cross bar or lintel 12, and from whence the strain is uniformlydefiected in a lateral, diagonal and upward direction, and is therebytransmitted to the side beams.

In order to increase the side pressure against the cross bar from belowand to cause the brace to act as it were as a jack, it bebuckles or rods16 in opposite directions, as indicated by the arrow 3, which causes therods to-become elongated and thereby thrusts the cross bar to exertincreased pressure upwardly, it being apparent that irrespective of thelengthening and shortening of the cross bar, the strain on the cross baror lintel iscentral, and is transmitted diagonally and in a uniformdegree to the beams or studs. As shown in Fig. 1, to increase the braceor pressure action of the cross bar or lintel in the direction of thearrow in Fig. 1, it is only necessary to shorten the turn buckle or rodat that side to which it is desired to shift or thrust the cross headand to correspondingly lengthen the turn buckle at the opposite side,the reverse adjustment of the brace mentioned being necessary to shiftor thrust the strain on the cross bar or head in the opposite direction.To increase or diminish the up-thrust of the cross bar it is onlynecessary to adjust the length of the brace rods. Heretofore in bracesof this type of which I am aware, it has been found in practice that jowing to the strains exerted upon the securi ing screws the same willsooner or later become loose and no longer take hold on the 1 beams, andfurthermore when metal beams are used in connection with metal screws,there is a tendency to cause the screws to be sheared off and hencecause a slipping of the parts. In order to obviate these objectionablefeatures, I have provided the brackets of my improved construction withthe lugs 13 to project into apertures in the parts against which thecasting is abutted to re lieve the strain from the screw and in fact Ifind that very often the screws may be wholly omitted or only a singlescrew used, as shown, to prevent turning of the casting on the lug. Ihave also provided the fulcrum head of the bracket with a tubularinternally threaded extention to connect with the turn buckles or rodswhich are threaded into such extension instead of threading theextension into the turn buckles or rods as by so doing a smaller gagerod may be used with equal facility and thus cheapen the construction ofthe brace.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings it is thought the complete construction operation andadvantages of my invention will be readily understood by those skilledin the art to which my invention appertains.

What I claim is 2 Ina brace of the character described,.a bracketcomprising a base portion having a pair of apertured lugs, and a bridgeportion connecting said lugs, said bridge portion being provided with asemi-circular seat and a flat face, a fulcrum head pivotally connectedbetween said lugs to cooperate with said seat, a cylindrical lugprojecting from one face of said base portion and adapted to enter anaperture in the part to which the base portion is adapted to be securedand to be completely inclosed-in said apertured part, said fulcrum headhaving a tubular internally threaded extension, and said bridge having ascrew receiving aperture, substantially as shown and described.

JOHN B. COLLINS.

I/Vitnesses E. A. GUY'roN, R. E. CoLLINs.

